Raimi Loves Alvarez And His Crazy Uruguayan Robots

Remember when the “Cloverfield” viral campaign started and we all watched the trailer thinking, “I wonder how they’re going to integrate this first-person view into the story”?  The movie came out and we found out that the first-person view was the story.  That was the angle (so to speak) that made a Godzilla movie into something new and unique and amazing.  There’s only so much you can with a story, so they say, and filmmakers have resorted to playing with cinematography and other production elements in order to make their work stand out.

The success of “District 9” – with its shoe-string budget and compelling visual aspects – has apparently inspired a lot of amateur movie-crafters to try their hand at “something new”.  Like Merrick points out over on Ain’t It Cool News, this just isn’t as impressive as it used to be.  Any Joe Schmoe with a P2P program and a mote of creativity can make their wildest dreams come alive thanks to publicly available software.

Why, then, has this little 4-minute blip from Uruguay gotten so much attention?  Sam Raimi has taken Fede Alvarez under his wing as a sort of protégé (as the story goes) after “Panic Attack” got Raimi’s undivided attention, and just this last week, Alvarez has gone to all of the right people to get representation and protection.  Raimi’s company Ghost House has already penned the deal and the ink’s not even dry.

Here’s what I want to know about it:  Is Raimi really beating the rush by glomming on an excellent thing right out of the gate, or is he the head-runner in a mad rush that is never going to happen?  I have to admit, Alvarez’ work is beautiful, but I’m guessing that there had to be one hell of a script sitting in his hand for Raimi to take it this far.  More than that, I’m hoping that it’ll be even more new and original.  I love the documentary style with the real-view cameras and the pan-and-zoom thing, but before too much longer, I’m going to need Dramamine to see a romantic comedy.

Alvarez has all of our best wishes for a successful career and we’re looking forward to seeing something incredible from him.  (If not, we promise to feel a little bad when he’s eviscerated.)

If you haven’t seen it yet, take a gander.  (And no picking on the kid.  I’m sure he was just some tech assistant.)